One-Minute Review: Pebble Steel Still Isn’t the Cartier of Smartwatches

To see how fast the idea of a smartwatch is developing, look no further than the Pebble.

The buzzy startup’s first watch—which was released last year after gathering momentum on Kickstarter—was innovative, but it also had the boxy, plastic look of something you might buy a child at Toys R Us. Models from competitors, most notably the $399 Samsung Galaxy Gear, were often equally toylike and at times even more gargantuan, as their makers tried to pack too many phone features onto a wrist.

Fast forward a year, and Pebble has a new $249 version called the Steel, that looks—surprise!—like an actual men’s watch. Its face is about the size you’d expect, though it’s about twice as thick as an average timepiece. It doesn’t make or take calls, shoot photos or cook your lunch. Instead, it gives you alerts from your phone, and lets you do more wrist-friendly functions like playing music or scrolling through nearby Yelp listings. It does just enough to let you sneak a peek at what’s important when it would be rude or impractical to get out your phone.

The Pebble Steel is the first smartwatch that I would actually consider wearing. And I did wear it…for nearly two weeks straight.

But it still isn’t enough for me to make the leap. If the first Pebble looked like something from a toy store, the Steel looks just slightly nicer than a watch you’d buy at Walgreens or CVS.

The Pebble Steel displays alerts from your phone like text messages.

The Wall Street Journal

The folks behind Pebble say they were going for a retro look like the Casio watches of the 1980s, and put a lot of energy into build quality. But to my eye, it doesn’t have the smooth, refined look that you got with the metal-and-glass iPhone 4, for instance. The finish on the buttons on the model I tested was already showing a little bit of discoloration or scratching, if you look close.

There are a few other rough edges. I kept wanting to touch the screen of the Pebble to control it, but instead you have to use buttons on the side. I found these awkward, but that design decision is based in part on the fact that you can get the Pebble wet. In fact, the company says you can wear it swimming—or even diving.

I also couldn’t get the battery on the Pebble Steel to last more than a few days. That’s certainly longer than its competitors, but still not long enough for me.

The good news is that the smartwatch industry is learning that fashion matters. I’m still holding out for the Cartier of smartwatches—something with the brains of a Pebble, and some style to match.